Sean Dyche appointed Everton manager as former Burnley boss Frank Lampard succeeds

Everton have appointed Sean Dyche as their new manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

The former Burnley boss has been tasked with keeping the Toffees in the Premier League after being drafted to replace the sacked Frank Lampard.

“It’s an honor to become Everton manager. My staff and I are ready and eager to get this great club back on track,” he said on the club’s website.

“I know of Everton’s passionate fanbase and how valuable this club is to them. We are willing to work and give them what they want. It starts with sweat on the shirt, effort and a return to some of the core principles of what Everton Football Club has long stood for.

“We want to bring back a good feeling. We need the fans, we need unity and we need everyone on the same page. It starts with us as staff and players.

“Our goal is to build a team that works, fights and wears the badge with pride. The connection with the fans can then grow very quickly because they are so passionate.

“This squad has quality. But we have to make them shine. That’s the job of me and my staff.”

Dyche made his mark during a decade-long tenure as head of Burnley and has been unemployed since being sacked by the Clarets in April 2022.

The 51-year-old twice led Burnley to promotion from the league, taking them to seventh in the top flight in 2017/18, where he qualified for the Europa League.

He was sacked towards the end of last season after a poor run put Turf Moor club in the relegation zone, four points clear of safety.

Dyche has a big job ahead of them to reverse the Merseyside club’s slacking form and end an eight-game winless streak in the Premier League that has included damaging defeats in the last three games.

Back-to-back defeats to direct relegation rivals Southampton and West Ham ultimately cost Lampard his job and prompted protests from angry fans unhappy with the club’s leadership.

This season the Premier League has been in a bitter struggle for survival, with bottom-placed Southampton three points separating them from Leicester City in 14th place.

Everton are level with the Saints on 15 points but have a better goal difference and are two points behind Wolves in 17th place.

Dyche faces a difficult start to his new job – the Toffees’ next two Premier League games are at home against leaders Arsenal and away against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

The club are fully focused on their league duties having already been eliminated in both the League Cup and the FA Cup.